Inside the dimly lit post-operative ward-2 of Ad-Din Medical College Hospital, grief hangs heavy.

Near the reception desk, Jakir Hossain stood trembling with desperation, repeatedly asking hospital staff for the discharge file of his newborn niece.

“Where is the file of Meem Akter? Why is it taking so long?” he cried out. “We need to return to Munshiganj and bury our child. Isn’t it important to bury a child quickly?”

His voice cracked between anger and helplessness.

The baby, only days old, was among six newborns who died early this morning at the hospital in Dhaka’s Moghbazar area. Authorities said the deaths may have been linked to a technical malfunction, though the exact cause remains under investigation. Police and CID officials visited the hospital, while health authorities formed an inquiry committee to probe the tragedy.

Jakir said the infant was the first child of his younger brother.

“Her body has already turned blue,” he said softly, exhaustion replacing rage. “We cannot leave her here like this.”

A few feet away, seated silently in a wheelchair, was the baby’s mother, Meem Akter.

She stared blankly down the corridor, motionless amid the noise and chaos around her.

Just hours earlier, she had become a mother for the first time after months of waiting, carrying and hoping. Now, before she could even hold on to the feeling of motherhood, she was preparing to leave the hospital without her child.

Outside the ward, the grandmother wept uncontrollably, leaning against a wall as relatives tried to console her.

Tomorrow is Eid. But for this family, celebration has already dissolved into mourning.

“We decided to stay at the hospital because we thought it would be safer if our daughter-in-law faced any complications,” said Masuda Begum, the baby’s grandmother. “We listened to the doctors.”

Her voice faded as she spoke of her daughter-in-law, who, according to relatives, had remained nearly unconscious from shock since morning.

Masuda recalled the final hours before the tragedy unfolded.

“My granddaughter cried a lot around 3:00am,” she said. “Her mother tried to calm her. I tried too. Even her maternal grandmother tried.”

She had left before dawn for sehri, intending to keep a fast.

“I left the baby with her mother and went to eat sehri,” she said. “After sehri and Fajr prayer, I came back and heard that my granddaughter was no more.”

Hospital authorities said there were 11 mothers and six newborns in the ward at the time of the incident.